Mitchell: Hillary Clinton “a little bit out of touch”

posted at 9:21 am on June 30, 2014 by Ed Morrissey

The Huffington Post called this “harsh words,” but under the circumstances it sounds more like a qualified defense. David Gregory asked Andrea Mitchell why Hillary Clinton has come under such harsh scrutiny already when “she’s not even a candidate,” which is a laughable premise on which to deconstruct the past three weeks. Mitchell reminds Gregory that Hillary launched a book tour on her own initiative, and then says that the big takeaway is that the presumptive frontrunner for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination is “rusty,” and that she should stop giving paid speeches:

MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell had some harsh words for Hillary Clinton during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet The Press” Sunday.

Mitchell told host David Gregory that Clinton is “rusty” and “out of touch,” to judge by recent comments the former secretary of state made during her ongoing book tour.

“She is a little bit out of touch,” Mitchell said, “despite all of her work and all of her connection to hardworking people in the middle class.” …

“It’s a little bit of lack of self-awareness when she talks about being dead broke and she then tried to fix it, but still not getting the language, you know, politically correct,” Mitchell said.

The problem with Hillary over the past few weeks has not been that she’s continuing to get paid for speeches. It’s that she can’t speak straight when it comes to her own wealth and standard of living. She wants it both ways — to live like a One Percenter while pretending to be down with the “struggle” of Occupy Wall Street. It doesn’t work that way, especially when Wall Street sticks $20 million into your husband’s pockets for a few speeches over the years.

That’s not a lack of self-awareness. It’s flat-out hypocrisy. This book tour didn’t happen spontaneously; it was a long-planned effort to shape the political battlefield for the 2016 presidential campaign. The book was written for that purpose (which is why it spends 600 pages saying next to nothing, as reviewers have lamented), and the interviews carefully selected for maximum impact. Hillary had months to prepare for questions about her income — after all, it’s Democrats who made class warfare their central strategy over the last three years. The stumbles over the last three weeks aren’t about being “rusty,” but being tone-deaf in the first place.

That tone-deafness translates into a big problem on public trust for Hillary Clinton. While a thin majority believes her to be relatable — boosted by 86% among Democrats — her trustworthiness is under water in an NBC/WSJ poll taken during her first week of the tour:

The latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found 55% of all voters think Mrs. Clinton is “knowledgeable and experienced enough to handle the presidency,” but more voters disagree than agree with the statement that she is “honest and straightforward.”

The poll results highlight a problem that has dogged Mrs. Clinton since her 2008 campaign. Her three decades in national politics have cemented an image of an experienced public servant with the chops to be president but who has a tougher time making a personal connection with voters and gaining their trust.

Today, 38% of voters say she is “honest and straightforward,” compared with 40% who say she isn’t. That figure is better for Mrs. Clinton than in March 2008, during the Democratic primaries, when 33% said she was honest and 43% said she wasn’t. But she may have trouble making up more of that ground as she moves out of her self-imposed break from politics and is increasingly seen as a 2016 presidential candidate.

Pretending to not be “truly well off” after making more than a hundred million dollars in the past 23 years — and scoring a $14 million bonus for her latest memoir — didn’t make her appear any more trustworthy or straightforward, either. The Washington Post uses this first-week poll result to argue today that she’s not doing real damage to her standing:

Although D.C. gossiped endlessly about Hillary Rodham Clinton’s “inartful” comments on her wealth, most Democrats don’t seem to have paid attention — or just don’t care.

A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Annenberg poll shows that 86 percent of Democrats think she can relate to average Americans “as well as” other potential 2016 presidential candidates, despite her “position and economic circumstances.’’

As you might guess, she fares less well among all other voters — although she still has the backing of a solid majority of all voters who don’t see her as the next Thurston Howell III. The poll found that 55 percent of all people think she’s as relatable as other possible candidates, with 37 percent disagreeing.

But that doesn’t mean Clinton has nothing to worry about. The “as well as” clause in the poll’s question probably waters down negative reactions to the Clinton family’s wealth and how she has talked about it in recent days. That’s because (1) we really just don’t know who those other candidates will be, and (2) when we do meet those candidates, people might not view them as very “in touch” (see: Mitt Romney, John Kerry, Al Gore, Michael Dukakis). If people were simply asked whether Clinton was relatable, full stop, the numbers might be a little lower.

There’s also the fact that these gaffes continued well past the period in time in which this poll was taken. The original comment about being “dead broke” might have been shrugged off by many as a one-off fumble, but at the end of three weeks it’s apparent that Hillary really thinks she can sell herself as a member of the struggling proletariat. The more she tries to sell that, the less credible and relatable she will become … even to Democrats.

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I bet after 6 years of unlimited budgets for Vacays and lobster extravaganzas along with no cost designer window curtains made into clothes has left Mooch out of touch even compared to her previous $300K no show job lifestyle.

Nice trap Obama and the Dems have set for Hillary(and all of their future candidates who are well off). A central plank in their party platform is class warfare…yet a bunch of their politicians have an 8 or 9 figure net worth.

Nice trap Obama and the Dems have set for Hillary(and all of their future candidates who are well off). A central plank in their party platform is class warfare…yet a bunch of their politicians have an 8 or 9 figure net worth.

Doughboy on June 30, 2014 at 9:29 AM

How will the Obamas justify the $1.4 BILLION a year lifestyle they live?

She’s not out of touch or tone deaf, she’s an unprincipled liar that says whatever she thinks, at that moment, will help her get power.

Flange on June 30, 2014 at 9:32 AM

Scratch out “she” and replace it with “he” and you have you know who….who also got elected twice by a lot of dimwit voters so my faith in those who are voting again in 2016 to do the right thing is not solid.

How will the Obamas justify the $1.4 BILLION a year lifestyle they live?

Not even the richest people in the world live like they do.

ConstantineXI on June 30, 2014 at 9:35 AM

You do realize Barack Obama is the President right? I know, this is hard for you to grasp. But they live the lifestyle of the American President.

Also, you’re a massive idiot (duh) if you believe the Obama’s live like the “richest people in the world?” When was the last time the Obama’s chilled on their own private Island. When was the last time they left the house without being photographed. The richest people in the world not only have more, they get to enjoy it in privacy. Your ODS is hilarious. You can’t even construct the semblance of logic in the face of your hatred of Barack Obama.

There’s a huge difference though, no one knew anything about obozo, so he was able to fool people. Shrillary has too long of a public track record to do that. But it is a mistake to underestimate the stupidity of fools, you’re right to lack faith in the voters.

You do realize Barack Obama is the President right? I know, this is hard for you to grasp. But they live the lifestyle of the American President.

Also, you’re a massive idiot (duh) if you believe the Obama’s live like the “richest people in the world?” When was the last time the Obama’s chilled on their own private Island. When was the last time they left the house without being photographed. The richest people in the world not only have more, they get to enjoy it in privacy. Your ODS is hilarious. You can’t even construct the semblance of logic in the face of your hatred of Barack Obama.

libfreeordie on June 30, 2014 at 9:39 AM

Give me a break. The Obamas take multi-million dollar vacations, rent out expensive homes, entire floors in luxury hotels, fly their dog on a separate plane, host celebrities and famous musicians, and live in the freaking White House.

I don’t begrudge them the fancy accommodations and security that come with being the First Family, but when Obama keeps going out there talking about people not paying their fair share or how we need to make do with less, he could start by leading by example. Especially when the economy is in the toilet and most Americans are struggling to make ends meet thanks in no small part to his disastrous policies.

The first time running, with the help of the lying media and his not being vetted, yes, I could see how he got elected. But the second time running for president after showing America what he was truly made of/capable of and still getting re-elected was truly sureal.

Her fall made her think she has no money.
And there are more fall-related problems…
– At home she walks around in Monica Lewinsky’s blue dress.
– She keeps referring to that actor who played on the ’60s TV show “Run For Your Life” as Ben Ghazi.
– Late a night she puts on black make-up and screams “I’m the female Obama!” until Bill gives back her baby bottle filled with Jack Daniels.

His reelection is very troubling, but the media did manage to keep most of his blunders under wraps until after the election. Another difference is Shrillary won’t be able to run blaming Bush, which obozo was still able to pull off for his reelection.
I’ve always felt she’s just so unlikable that even the dems will find someone else. I know a couple of dems who thought Bill was awesome and hated Shrillary because they liked his Lothario ways and viewed her the way they viewed their ex-wives.

Did poor little David Gregory wet his panties? Oh, the horror of it all, “the nastiness”, can you imagine!! How defensive the little man is, how upset. What’s that about turnabout?
In any case Hillary is one of the great losers of all time, a woman who needs help getting into her girdle, not a candidate for office. A nonentity as a senator, a nebbish. You can trace her record back to 1993 when the stumblebum totally fouled up her plan to take over, destroy, America’s health care system.
I’m happy to see her sales plummet, maybe she’ll get a hint.

“She is a little bit out of touch,” Mitchell said, “despite all of her work and all of her connection to hardworking people in the middle class.” …

Wow! Who would have guessed that a woman who hasn’t driven herself anywhere since 1996 is out of touch with the middle class. After all the Clintons are just like oridnary folk who get out of their Gulfstreams and limos just like everybody else!

How will the Obamas justify the $1.4 BILLION a year lifestyle they live?

Not even the richest people in the world live like they do.

ConstantineXI on June 30, 2014 at 9:35 AM

You do realize Barack Obama is the President right? I know, this is hard for you to grasp. But they live the lifestyle of the American President.

Also, you’re a massive idiot (duh) if you believe the Obama’s live like the “richest people in the world?” When was the last time the Obama’s chilled on their own private Island. When was the last time they left the house without being photographed. The richest people in the world not only have more, they get to enjoy it in privacy. Your ODS is hilarious. You can’t even construct the semblance of logic in the face of your hatred of Barack Obama.

libfreeordie on June 30, 2014 at 9:39 AM

Wow, so much O’bama Fluffing in one post-where to begin?

I keep trying to think of a previous President who has spent 2+ weeks each year on the priciest beach on the priciest island in Hawai’i, but I come up empty. Help me out here!

I also keep trying to remember what other President, by choosing such a pricey location for such a long time frame, manages to shut down tourist air traffic over O’ahu during the most lucrative tourist weeks of the season. Again, I come up empty.

I also keep trying to think of what other previous President refused to spend the holidays at Camp David, thus giving his Secret Service detail and staff a chance to spend those holidays at home with their families. Again, I come up empty.

By the way, when the O’bamas stay in their pricey estate on Kailua Beach, they are in fact for all intents and purposes on their own private island, because said estate is on a narrow peninsula almost totally surrounded by water. It is essentially a bridged island. I lived in that town for 3 years so know these things.

Mitchell said, “despite all of her work and all of her connection to hardworking people in the middle class.”

What work? And what’s with the remaining babble “all of her connection to hardworking people”?

Sounds like Andrea is a little out of touch, too. Hello Andrea!!! Giving speeches at $200k a crack which requires glad handing a peasant or two in the process, is not a connection to the middle class and hard work is not what Hillary would normally call it. What she calls it while taking off her make up at night is “a sufferance”.

“She is a little bit out of touch,” Mitchell said, “despite all of her work and all of her connection to hardworking people in the middle class.” …

Wow! Who would have guessed that a woman who hasn’t driven herself anywhere since 1996 is out of touch with the middle class. After all the Clintons are just like oridnary folk who get out of their Gulfstreams and limos just like everybody else!

Happy Nomad on June 30, 2014 at 10:23 AM

She is connected to the middle class the same way as a blood-sucking tick is attached to my butt.

Both are annoying parasites.

I’ve got DEET for the ticks. Anybody found a good Hillary repellent, other than honest work for fair pay?